Love Hidden In The Snow
by Amarante Ricci
Summary: Yokoshari and Haku were best friends until the day she disappeared. Now it's eight years later, and they meet again under pressing circumstances. What'll happen in this story of reunions, new love, and wishful thinking?
1. A Lost Girl

"Yokoshari, are you sure about this?" a young boy of five asked quietly.

"I'm positive, Haku. Now don't worry," a four year old girl, Yokoshari, whispered.

Haku gulped, "But Zabuza-"

"Won't know anything about this. Now will he?"

"No."

"Good."

The two quietly snuck into the sleeping Mist village.

"You go that way, I go this way," Yokoshari said.

Haku nodded and separated. Little did the friends know that the next time they saw each other, would not be in ten minutes, but in 8 years. Zabuza had found Haku only moments after they left. He then searched high and low for Yokoshari only to discover that she had disappeared completely.

* * *

**-Yokoshari-**

A man stared down at a picture of a four year old girl with black hair and a blonde streak on one side. The same girl was walking, more like sneaking, through a quiet street.

"That her?" his partner asked.

"Yes," the first man said. "Let's get her."

Yokoshari stopped in her tracks. _Someone's here, _she thought. She started running, fully aware of the men chasing her. Yokoshari ran as quickly as she could into the forest. She slowly, but surely, lost her pursuers. Using what Zabuza taught her, she jumped up into the trees above to wait. Once she got into a decent spot, she took out two senbon and sat still.

When the men appeared, Yokoshari pulled her hand back and sent the senbon into their necks, rendering them unconscious. Sighing, she continued on the path she had taken to escape her pursuers.

Three days later, the four year old girl was still traveling having gotten lost not long after she knocked the two men out. She had no idea where she was. Traveling with barely any food or water or rest was starting to take its toll on the child. Unknowingly, Yokoshari stepped on a branch that was too weak to support her weight and fell to the ground, hitting her head along the way.

A few hours later, a man with silver hair, a mask, and his headband covering his left eye discovered her. There were two other people with him, a teenage boy with a black ponytail and onyx eyes and a teenage girl with red eyes and black hair.

"Look, Kakashi. A little girl," the red-eyed girl said.

"Yes, Kamaya, I see her. She looks around four years old," Kakashi, the silver haired man, said.

Kamaya looked at the boy with onyx eyes and said, "Is she alive, Itachi?"

Itachi kneeled down and put his hand on Yokoshari's neck. Her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist squeezing it hard. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him nervously. Itachi tried to move his hand, but it wouldn't budge. He noticed that the girl was unbelievably thin, covered in bruises and scratches, and seemed like she was about to pass out again.

"It's okay. You're safe now, you're a few minutes outside of Konohagakure. I am Itachi Uchiha, and these are my comrades, Kakashi Hatake and Kamaya Yuhi. We are from Konoha. What about you?" he said softly.

Yoko's eyes softened and she released his wrist. As Itachi rubbed his wrist, she sat up slowly and cleared her throat.

"I am Yokoshari Harashino. I'm from Kirigakure," she muttered.

Suddenly, a loud growl came from Yokoshari. She put a hand on her stomach and chuckled nervously. Kamaya giggled, Itachi chuckled, and Kakashi sighed.

"Kakashi, I can take her home with me. I'm sure Kurenai-nee won't mind," Kamaya said.

"Alright, but bring her to the Hokage's office later," Kakashi nodded. He then disappeared in his signature puff of smoke.

Itachi helped Yoko onto Kamaya's back. Yoko looked between Itachi and Kamaya.

"Am I going to be _living_ in Konoha?" she asked.

Itachi shrugged, "If the Hokage says you may."

"And you can stay with me and my sister if you want," Kamaya smiled.

Yokoshari smiled back and quickly nodded. As they walked back to the village, she looked at Itachi.

"Um...Itachi...nii?" she tentatively asked. Yokoshari was a pretty decent judge of character for a four year old. She felt she was safe with these people.

Though she couldn't see it, Itachi's eyes widened. His face relaxed and he looked at her, smiling. "Yes, Yokoshari?"

"I know Kamaya-nee has as older sister. But what about you?" she asked.

"Well, I have a little brother. He's five and his name is Sasuke. Maybe you can meet him later," he replied.

Yoko nodded and said, "Okay. I like meeting new people." She laid her head down on Kamaya's shoulder. She fell asleep as they reached the gates. Itachi looked over at Kamaya.

"Do you want me to walk you home, Kamaya?" he asked.

"Um...No. I-it's okay, Itachi. I'll meet you at Lord Hokage's office later. Bye!" Kamaya said, before speeding off.

As she disappearered, Itachi shook his head. "Sometimes, I do not understand her. Why does she stutter around me like that?" he said to himself.

Kakashi, who just so happened to be watching, sweatdropped and slapped his forehead, "He's a genius...yet so stupid."

* * *

**-Haku-**

Zabuza was beginning to get worried. Haku has neither talked nor slept since Yokoshari disappeared. The boy stood at the window, staring out into the trees. Zabuza came up behind him and placed his hand on Haku's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Haku. We'll find her, I promise," the Nin said, softly.

"How? When? Yoko could be in another village or another country by now! I don't think we'll ever find her," Haku croaked. His voice was hoarse from lack of use.

A small smile lit up Zabuza's face. "We **will** find Yokoshari. It may not be soon; it may even be years from now. But we **will** find her. I swear," he said. Haku nodded.

"Okay, Master Zabuza. I believe you," the little boy said, wiping his tears away.

* * *

**-Yokoshari-**

Kamaya walked into her home and went into the living room. As she laid Yoko down, her sister, Kurenai Yuhi, came into the room. She looked at Yokoshari.

"Who's that?" Kurenai asked.

"Oh, hi, Kurenai," Kamaya smiled. "Her name is Yokoshari. She said she's from Kiri. Poor thing hasn't eaten in days."

Kurenai disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with two bowls of soup, a bowl of rice, three rolls, two glasses of water, and a plate of cookies. Yokoshari slowly woke up at the smells. Her bleary eyes blinked several times as she sat up. Kurenai set the tray in front of her and the young girl pounced.

* * *

Two hours and lots of food later, Kamaya, Yokoshari, and Kurenai, along with Itachi and Kakashi, were standing in front of the Hokage's desk. The elderly man looked down at Yoko and smiled.

"So, you are our new arrival, correct?" Sarutobi said. Yoko nodded. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you a few questions. Nothing too hard seeing as you're a child."

Yoko nodded again and stood up as straight as she could, "Okay."

"What is your name, how old are you, and where are you from?" Sarutobi asked. He was writing everything down as he said it.

Yokoshari cleared her throat, it had suddenly become dry. "My name is Yokoshari Harashino. I'm four years old; I turn five in exactly two months. I'm from Kirigakure."

Sarutobi nodded and continued writing. "Is there any family there that you can return to?"

Yokoshari thought of Haku and Zabuza and shuffled her feet. _I'm sorry, Haku-kun…_

"No, sir, I don't really have a family anymore. My parents died two years ago and my aunt who had been raising me died last year." Of course Yokoshari knew she was lying. Or at least about having an aunt was she lying. Zabuza had taken her in when she was two and a half after her parents were killed by a burglar. He had happened across her while she was hiding in an alleyway.

Sarutobi noticed her shuffling and caught Kakashi's eye. He nodded, showing that he had noticed as well. _I won't press the matter for now…she's too young to have any enemies._

"Can you tell me what you were doing outside our village?"

Yokoshari nodded and told the Hokage everything from the moment she noticed she was being followed up until she woke up to Itachi leaning over her. She left out anything related to Haku and Zabuza.

"So you got lost after you abandoned the two men following you? Can you describe them?" Sarutobi asked. He had stopped writing a few moments after Yokoshari had started her story.

"Yes, sir, I can. The older one, he looked like he was the boss, had gray hair and a scar running across his face like this," Yokoshari said. She ran her finger down her face from the top left corner to the bottom right. Kakashi tensed as soon as she did.

"And the other man, what about him?" Kakashi asked.

Yokoshari looked at him confused, "He looked not much older than you, Kakashi-san. He had green hair, which I thought was really weird. He had green eyes, too, though they were a different shade."

Sarutobi nodded, "I believe that'll be enough for now. Thank you very much, Yokoshari. I will leave you in Kurenai Yuhi's care. I want you to focus on any recovery you need to do from your journey." He looked over at Kurenai, "I'll need you two to return here when she's fully recovered to take care of further business. You may take her home now."

Kurenai nodded and bowed to the Hokage. She picked Yokoshari up and left with Kamaya and Itachi in tow. After the door closed, Sarutobi sighed and put his hands together. He was reflecting on part of Yokoshari's story that confused him.

"What would a couple of rogue bounty hunters want with a four-year-old little orphan? Especially when those bounty hunters are the Blade Cousins?" Kakashi asked.

"That's exactly what I'm wondering," Sarutobi said. He sighed and looked down at the paper he had been writing Yokoshari's information and story on. "Something doesn't feel right."

"You mean you think she was lying?" Kakashi asked. "She's four years old."

"No. But she wasn't telling us everything. Even young children can have secrets. Sometimes they can have more secrets than an adult. Don't underestimate this girl because of her age, Kakashi. There's something about her that's older than her age."

Kakashi looked at the Hokage, his eye filled with confusion. He walked to the windows behind the Hokage's desk and looked out at the small group leaving the building. He watched as Itachi turned to go to the Uchiha compound and the Yuhis took Yokoshari towards the shops. Probably to buy the young girl some clothes, he figured. Kakashi sighed as he finally realized just how much danger this child, this four-year-old girl from Kirigakure, could be in if the Blade Cousins were after her. He sighed again when he realized how she didn't know as she began to start her new life.


	2. Forever Friend

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this uploaded. I hit a couple hitches and had a hard time finding a beta but here it is! I hope you enjoy :D Also, if you haven't already, I suggest rereading the first chapter. I rewrote a couple of things.**

* * *

Yokoshari walked into the kitchen after getting ready for the day. Kurenai was on a week-long mission so Kamaya planned a bonding day for herself and the six-year-old.

"I can't believe it's already been two years. You know, it still kind of feels like just yesterday when Sandaime let you come live with us," Kamaya said. She looked up from the stove and smiled as Yokoshari sat down. "I'm fixing some ramen. Do you want an egg in yours?"

"Of course I do!" Yokoshari said. She started bouncing up and down in her seat at the table, "When do I not?"

Kamaya laughed and turned back to the stove. She took a few minutes to put the finishing touches to the ramen before she turned off the heat. Yokoshari got up to fix their drinks as Kamaya brought the bowls of ramen to the table. Just as the girls were about to dig in, a knock sounded at the door. Kamaya hung her head and sniffed.

"Figures just as we're about to eat someone decides to visit," she sighed as she got up. "You go ahead and start without me. I'll go see who it is."

Yokoshari nodded and began to eat her ramen while Kamaya walked to the front door. She looked through the peephole before opening the door.

"Mikoto-san, what brings you by? Hi there, Sasuke-kun," she said to the pair standing outside. "Yokoshari, come see who's here!"

Yokoshari came out of the kitchen to stand behind Kamaya. She bowed to Mikoto before noticing Sasuke.

"Hi, Sasuke!" Yokoshari yelled. She jumped on her best friend to give him a hug, knocking the poor boy down at the same time.

Mikoto Uchiha watched the two children. "Nice to see you, Yoko-chan," she laughed before turning her attention to Kamaya, "You too, Kamaya. I was wondering if you could watch Sasuke tonight. Itachi is on a mission and won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Their father and I would like to have a night to ourselves before he gets back."

"I don't mind at all," Kamaya said. She glanced down to see that Yokoshari had finally let Sasuke up and was trying to pull the seven-year-old inside. The young girl eventually gave up when she noticed that he hadn't moved an inch.

"He can stay in the spare room. Come on in, Sasuke, and I'll fix you something to eat," Kamaya answered. She moved out of the doorway so he and Yokoshari could make their way towards the kitchen. She could hear Yokoshari telling him what they had by way of food in the kitchen.

"Thank you so much," Mikoto said. She smiled at Kamaya, "You know he loves coming over here. He and Yoko-chan spend so much time together."

Kamaya laughed, "I know. She loves being around Sasuke. She's mentioned more than once that he'll always be her best friend. Honestly, Mikoto-san? I wouldn't be surprised if they dated when they hit teenage years."

Mikoto busted out laughing. She took a minute to catch her breath before saying, "I'd like to see that. I think Yokoshari would really give Sasuke-kun a run for his money. Although they'd probably be cute together… Anyway, I should be going. Thanks again, Kamaya. I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem, Mikoto-san. See you later!" Kamaya replied before shutting the door and heading into the kitchen. She stopped at the door and facepalmed. Yokoshari and Sasuke had pulled two chairs over to the stove and had begun making his ramen.

"Do you want an egg in it, Sasuke? It's really good like that!" Yokoshari asked. She held an egg up to Sasuke's face.

"Sure…I guess…You like the weirdest things, Yoko-chan," Sasuke said. He took the egg from her and cracked it. Unfortunately, half the shell went into the pot along with half the egg. The other half splattered onto the stove.

"You know…you really should've waited and let me take care of that. Now there's going to be burnt egg all in the burner," Kamaya said. She put her hands on her hips and gave the two kids her best "you're in trouble now" looks.

Kamaya and Sasuke looked at each other and hopped off the chairs. They returned the chairs to the table and stood in front of Kamaya.

"We're sorry, nee-chan," they chorused with puppy dog pouts on both of their faces.

"It's okay, kids. Let me clean everything up and we'll just have sandwiches. How does that sound?" Kamaya said. _That way we won't burn the place down before Kurenai gets back…_

Yokoshari and Sasuke ran into the living room to play while Kamaya started on the kitchen.

"Do you want to see what I brought?" Sasuke asked. He walked over to the corner and picked up his backpack.

"Sure," Yokoshari answered, climbing up on the couch. "What is it this time?"

Sasuke sat next to her and pulled out a book, "It's a bunch of different leaves I've found around the village. Not one of them is the same. I thought you'd like to add it to your scrapbook collection. It's a late birthday present."

Yokoshari took the book from him and flipped through it. Sasuke was right; each leaf was unique in itself. She closed it and gave Sasuke a hug, making him blush. "Thank you so much, Sasuke! I really like it. It's so nice. I'll put it with the rest of my scrapbooks in my room later." Yokoshari and Sasuke went back to looking through the scrapbook as Kamaya walked in with the sandwiches. After lunch, the group watched movies and played board games until nighttime came.

"Okay, you two. Go get washed up and ready for bed. If you'd like, we can all sleep in here," Kamaya yawned. She got up to put their last game away and pull out sleeping bags for the three of them. Sasuke and Yokoshari ran down the hall to get ready for bed. When they came back, they lied down on adjacent sleeping bags and began to tell each other ghost stories. Before anyone knew it, the children were sound asleep with Kamaya watching them.

"I really can see them together for life," she muttered before falling asleep herself.

* * *

Sasuke stood outside the Yuhi's front door with his backpack on. He bowed to Kamaya and said, "Thank you for letting me stay over last night. I had fun."

"It's no problem, Sasuke. You know you're welcome to come over whenever you want," Kamaya replied. She smiled down at the boy. "Are you going straight home?"

"No. I'm gonna go train for a while. Can Yoko come with me?" Sasuke asked, looking at Yokoshari.

"Sure, I don't see why not. But you have to come straight home afterwards, ok, Yokoshari?"

Yokoshari nodded and went grabbed her own backpack. She and Sasuke left the apartment building and made their way to one of the parks.

"So what are we going to do, Sasuke?" Yokoshari asked when they arrived.

"Let's just spar for today," Sasuke suggested. Yokoshari agreed and set her backpack down.

The two stood about a yard away from each other and got into positions before they started to fight. Yokoshari and Sasuke continued to have sparring matches until it started getting dark.

"I have to go home now. Kamaya-nee will have a fit if I'm not back soon. I'll see you later, Sasuke-kun!" Yokoshari said. She picked up her backpack and waved at Sasuke as she ran off towards home.

Sasuke waved back and picked up his own backpack. He then began to make his way to the Uchiha compound, completely unaware of what awaited him there.

* * *

Kamaya stretched and looked over at her clock. It read three a.m. She stared at the blinking numbers wondering what woke her up. Yokoshari walked into the room as Kamaya was getting up.

"Kamaya…" she started, rubbing her eyes, "why is there someone pounding on the door this late? Or is it this early…"

Kamaya looked at the tired girl and realized what it was that woke her up: some had been knocking on the front door. And still was.

Pulling on her house robe, Kamaya walked down the hallway and opened the front door with Yokoshari right at her feet.

"Toshi-san? What are you doing here?" she asked the flustered-looking Nin standing outside.

"Kamaya-san, you need to come to the Hokage's office now! It's an emergency; the Uchiha clan has been attacked!" Toshi said urgently.

"Attacked by whom?" Kamaya asked, afraid of the answer she already knew.

"Itachi," Toshi answered. A grave expression crossed his face as he told her more about what happened.

What Toshi didn't realize, however, was that Kamaya was no longer listening. She had even gone deaf to a crying Yokoshari yanking on Kamaya's pants and asking what the shinobi at their door was talking about.

Kamaya didn't want to believe it even though she knew it was true. Itachi, _her_ Itachi, had massacred his entire clan save for Sasuke. No matter how much she tried to figure out a way that he could've been framed or something she knew there was no possibility against the truth. Itachi had…changed recently. He'd grown colder and no longer laughed at her lame jokes the way he used to. And when she finally got frustrated enough with his attitude and admitted (more like yelled) how she felt about him he just looked at her with the blankest of faces and turned away. Kamaya remembered how her heart had broken as she watched him walk away from her. It wasn't even his lack of an answer or his walking away that hurt her the most. It was the look on his face. As if he was bored and didn't care. As if she wasn't worth his time.

"Yokoshari," Kamaya said quietly as she came back to her senses, "I want you to go to the hospital and keep an eye on Sasuke. I'm going with Toshi to the Hokage's office. I'll see you later."

Yokoshari let go of Kamaya's pants and watched as the older girl walked away. She reached up and brushed away her tears. Yokoshari shut the front door and ran back to her room to change. When she was done, she left the apartment and ran into town towards the hospital.

* * *

Yokoshari stopped inside the hospital doors to catch her breath. She couldn't remember ever seeing the hospital in the chaotic state it was in now. The young girl ran up to the first nurse she recognized.

"Yokoshari, what are you doing here? Where's Kamaya?" the older woman asked, looking down at her.

Yokoshari pulled her jacket closer and quietly asked, "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

The nurse's face turned grim and she laid a hand on Yokoshari's shoulder. She pointed down the hall and gave her the directions to his room. Yokoshari thanked her and started running to Sasuke's room. When she got there, she stopped just outside and tried to pull herself together.

_Don't cry. Don't cry. Whatever you do…don't cry, _she thought to herself. The young girl repeated the words over and over as she slid the door open and quietly walked in. Yokoshari couldn't help a sigh of relief when she saw Sasuke lying in the bed unharmed and asleep.

Sasuke heard her sigh and opened his eyes. He turned his head and murmured, "Yoko-chan? Yoko-chan…Itachi…he…"

Yokoshari walked over to the bed and sat in the chair next to it, "I know. Someone came by our house and told Kamaya-nee about what happened. Why did he do it?"

Sasuke shook his head as if he didn't want to talk about it before falling right back asleep. Yokoshari reached over and wiped away the tears that had escaped from his eyes.

"You'll be ok, now, Sasuke-kun. I'm your friend forever. I won't let anyone hurt you again," she whispered. Yokoshari curled up into a ball in the chair and slowly fell asleep, herself.


End file.
